


The Mad Scientist

by space_kid (orphan_account)



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Angst, Bad Things Happen To Carlos, Bad Things Happen To Cecil, Desperation, M/M, Mad Science, Mad Scientists, Science Experiments, crazy carlos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-08-31
Packaged: 2018-04-18 02:35:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4689248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/space_kid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carlos doesn't accept the truth, and causes everyone to worry about him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Mad Scientist

1:37 am. Not too late, Carlos has had later nights in the past, he can do this tonight, and he will. He moves the specimen he currently has underneath the microscope, changing the lens accordingly, and peers down the scope, seeing small bits of something that were not there earlier. He grins, and moves his hand to write down the description on a nearby notebook.

The nights he had been having recently were almost painfully long and tiring, but they were for a good reason, and he'd do them all again if he had the chance, no doubt. Carlos had drank about 35 cups of coffee in the past week, not even bothering to add his usual cream and sugar, drinking it black and powerful. It jolts him awake, and allows him to do more experiments in the dead of night. Carlos looks down at his hand, and notices it shaking. His eyes widen, and he steps back and holds his hands before him, shudders and tremors running through his fingers. It's his body's way of telling him that he has had too much; to stop and rest for a minute.

But he has a job to do.

Carlos clenches his hands into fists, takes a gulp of coffee, and goes right back to writing down his findings.

* * *

"You go talk to him!"

"Why me? You should do it!!"

"Rochelle, you know he likes you more!"

"Dave, come on!" Rochelle hisses, peering around the door frame her and Dave were currently hiding behind. It was late, and all the other scientists had gone home already. They had all tried to get Carlos home, and now had given up on that notion. But Dave and Rochelle hadn't given up, and both of them had planned to confront Carlos to get him to go home.

"Why don't we both go?" Dave suggests, and Rochelle pinches the bridge of her nose, sighing sharply.

"That'd probably be the best," she crosses her arms, looking back at Carlos, who was hunched over the microscope, like usual. "This isn't healthy behavior."

Dave sighs in return. "It doesn't seem to matter to him, but you're right. He needs to get home and fucking sleep."

Rochelle chuckles a bit, a sad kind, her head shaking back and forth slightly. "Who would've thought..."

Dave's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Thought what?"

"Who would've thought that this is what Carlos would become," she says, and Dave frowns.

"it's like he's cursed or something..." he mumbles, and Rochelle looks over at Dave thoughtfully.

"You've never been in love, have you?" She asks. Dave rolls his eyes.

"Whatever, are you ready to get this sonofabitch out of here?"

"No," she admits, "but let's do it anyway." The two nod at each other, and begin to walk toward Carlos, who is writing down words in his notebook, which is already littered with strange sprawling.

"Hey Carlos," Dave begins, drawing the words out. "How is your, uh, _research _going?"__

Carlos ignores the other two, silently working and writing down more notes. Rochelle peers over at the notes trying to decipher their words. But when she looks, all she sees are scribbles and an occasional word like 'hour' and 'save.'

"Carlos, what are you even doing?" She asks skeptically, moving to stand beside him, and her heart crumbles a bit when she sees him. He has massive bags under his eyes from a lack of sleep, with a slight bloodshot look to them. His hair is greasy and completely mussed up from his hands running through them. Not to mention the small patch of grey hair spreading, making him looked aged. His glasses are barely hanging off the bridge of his nose, and he clearly hadn't shaved today nor yesterday. Rochelle was worried for him.

"Leave me alone," Carlos whispers, fixing the microscope to get a better view of the specimen.

Dave walks to the other side of Carlos, eyes skimming over the other man. "No can do, man. You should really go get some rest. Roch and I will clean up here."

"I'm okay, you two need to get home. It's irresponsible to be up so late for no reason," the scientist responds, writing more notes down. He felt close to a breakthrough, and the last thing he needed was Rochelle and Dave messing with his experiments.

"Then why are you up?" Dave asks, looking down at Carlos. Rochelle's eyes go wide with fear, signaling him to shut up. He doesn't see her.

"Carlos, man, you seriously need to stop this, you're practically destroying yourself! You haven't left the lab, I haven't seen you eat a single thing in a week, you don't shower and you live off of coffee! Is this what Cecil would've-"

Without warning, Carlos stands up abruptly, his chair falling backward as he slams Dave into the wall by his shoulders. He holds him there, fire blazing pure rage inside of him. Dave looks petrified, and he is deathly still and pale while Rochelle comes up behind those two. "CARLOS!" She yells. Carlos snarls at Dave, leaning close, pushing his shoulders into the wall more harshly.

"Don't _ever _tell me how to live my life. _Mind your own fucking business, and leave Cecil out of this," _Carlos growls, and drops Dave, walking back to his seat and pulling it up, sitting down, looking at his specimen again, as though nothing had just happened.____

Rochelle helps Dave stand up, and the two look at each other once again with wide eyes and jaws somewhat dropped. Rochelle looks back over at Carlos, gulping.

"Well... do you need any help atleast? Dave and I coul-"

"Go home you two," Carlos spats, not bothering to look at the two other scientists. "I don't need you two messing with my experiments."

Dave tugs on Rochelle's shoulder as she advances toward Carlos. He motions to the door, a sad look in his eyes. Rochelle looks back at Carlos once more, before letting out a defeated breath, closing her eyes and walks with Dave to the door, accepting defeat. Carlos hears the door open, a mumbled "Good night" from Rochelle, and then it is deathly quiet once more.

* * *

Carlos still doesn't feel bad at 4 am about what he did to Dave. It was his fault, he pushed him, he practically insulted him. Carlos was fed up with their words and their thoughts, so he did what had to be done. And it got him what he wanted anyway, they left him alone. 

Suddenly, he looks down at the flask, and gasps. It's _empty. _His specimen is gone, vanished, and now the disc of plastic is dry and vacant of any life Carlos had been studying for the past week.__

Panic bubbles up his chest, and Carlos feels himself falling apart. He had been _so damn close. _He could practically feel the sweet taste of accomplishment in his mouth, but now he was shattered. In a rush, Carlos stands up, and in a moment of blinding rage, a wild arm swipes across the desk, flinging all the papers and equipment onto the ground and shattering, glass smashing and flying, papers dancing in the air, gently falling to the ground. Carlos is breathing heavily, shaking with anger and utter destruction. At first he thinks he is literally blind by rage, before he finds himself subconsciously wiping tears from his cheeks, wet trails of defeat.__

Carlos covers his mouth to hold in his sobs, backing away from the mess he had made. He felt like a failure, like a joke. Why was he even trying? What was the _point? _Carlos backs into a wall, the same one he'd pushed Dave into, and he slid down until he was sitting, knees up and hands tugging his hair. His mind was racing, his pulse was up, his heart was broken.__

"God, Cecil," he chokes out, voice breaking, hands shaking. "I'm sorry, I'm so fucking _sorry, _" he whispers, over and over again, the dead silence eerie and nerve racking.__

_"Don't apologize." ___

Carlos looks up at the voice, knowing he must be crazy. Because it can't be him, because that's impossible. And then he sees him. Granted, he is very pale in all ways, and there are the same blood splatters from before, but he sees those kind eyes, the gentle smile, the purple glow that seems to surround him, Carlos chokes on air, eyes wide and alert in case something happens. But he just stand there, looking down at Carlos with all the love and affection he remembers.

"Cecil?"

He nods, and Carlos suddenly feels like he might pass out. "B-but, that's _impossible!!" _He exclaims, suddenly stand up and walking closer to "Cecil." He is still smiling, and it's just about killing Carlos, because it looks like Cecil, sounded like him, but Carlos just knows it can't be. He saw Cecil, all that blood, the screaming-__

"You look tired. Are you sleeping enough?" Cecil asks, head tilting, smile fading a bit. Carlos' fists clench.

"It can't be you..." he whispers, head falling forward. He feels a warmth across his cheek, and he looks up to see Cecil cupping his jaw with pain in his eyes.

"Oh perfect Carlos," Cecil sighs, speaking gently. "Why are you doing this to yourself?"

Carlos feels his voice betraying him, showing Cecil just how far he'd fallen without him here, with Carlos. Cecil begins stroking Carlos' cheek with his thumb, a warm presence. Carlos suddenly gives into the temptation of his boyfriend, bringing his hand up to place it upon Cecil's, to relish in the contact he'd been craving for the past week.

But when he goes to place it, he feels his own rough stubble, and not a smooth hand of his lover. His eyes go wide, looking at Cecil, who is smiling gently at him, his eyes so full, his face so pale. It was the paleness that reminded him of that time, seemingly forever ago.

"Why?" He asks, a whisper to Cecil. The stroking continues, and Carlos leans into the strange warmth brought by Cecil's "hand."

"Shh," Cecil says, leaning in, wrapping his thin arms around Carlos' middle and pressing his head into Carlos' neck. Tears overwhelm Carlos, the powerful urge to return the action to his boyfriend. He knows, however, if he tried, he'd go right through his body and be hugging himself. He inhales, and a sob leaks out, pinching the air.

"God Cecil.." he's sobbing now, unable to do anything but stand as Cecil hugs him, the definition of helpless. Cecil moves his head back to look at Carlos.

"You need to stop his, Carlos," he whispers. "It's not okay, what you are doing."

Carlos struggles for words, shaking his head. "B-but... I was so _close-" ___

"All the more reason to stop this now. You're a _scientist, _you need to know your mistakes sometimes, my love," Cecil says, a run running through Carlos' hair, although the hair doesn't even shift. Carlos' shoulders tense up at his words.__

"How can you ever ask me to stop this? It's for you, after all..." Carlos silences when he sees Cecil place a finger on his lips, silencing him once more.

"I never asked for this-"

_"I never asked for you to get killed!!" _The room is silent, and Cecil looks saddened.__

Carlos feels anger foam up within him. Cecil didn't have to be practically torn apart by Kevin, Cecil didn't have to die alone, covered in his own blood and wheezing his goodbyes into the thick air. Cecil didn't have to sob into the microphone as his insides bled out while Carlos raced there in his car, tears blinding him while driving. Carlos had to call the Sheriff's Secret Police, while holding Cecil's heavy and lifeless body, watch as his tattoos stopped glowing and his eyes flickered out. He had placed a hand on Carlos' jaw, coating a side of Carlos' face in his blood. He was freezing cold, and Carlos simply hugged him tighter until he had been pried from his hands by the Secret Police. He'd protested that, obviously, and had to be sedated so he wouldn't cause such a fuss.

Ever since that night, Carlos had slaved away, knowing that Night Vale must've had _something _to bring Cecil back. He'd interviewed citizen after citizen, trying to see if anyone knew anything about something. Carlos had to suffer through every single person asking if he was okay, and he'd always ignored them, and asked his questions. Not a single person knew anything about that sort of thing, so he took things into his own hands, using science to trying to find something. Night Vale was weird enough, it wasn't completely out of the question that Cecil could be brought back into his arms.__

And then Cecil comes walking up, asking him to stop.

Said man looks up at Carlos with now heavy eyes, bringing both hands up to cup Carlos' head, staring at him directly.

"Carlos, I love you," he whispers. "I've loved you ever since I first laid my eyes on you, and everything I learned about you only made me fall harder. I have never love any other person in the entire universe and void included as much as I love you, and will continue to love you. You are smart, handsome, kind, funny, and imperfect all rolled together and presented in a rather dashing lab coat. You have your faults, but those only make me love you more. They are proof that you're real, not just my imagination. You keep me grounded, and somehow love me back. Every second we spend together reminds me that we are here, in this single moment, and that right now at least, you love me." Cecil smiles then, eyes filling with tears while Carlos had been crying for seemingly forever now.

"What I'm trying to say, is that you need to move on, Carlos." Carlos is shaking now, staring down at Cecil and trying not at completely call him out, because what even was life before Cecil? He was missing something so wonderful and special, how could he ever go back to simply wandering around with no purpose?

"Cecil, I'm going to bring you back," he says, voice sharp, and Cecil's face falls a bit.

"Carlos, you're going to be _fine, _Carlos." He smiles a watery smile up at his boyfriend, and Carlos' feels his heart break all over again.__

Cecil leans up, whispering into his ear. "A scientist is always fine."

A warm pressure envelops Carlos' lips, and he realizing Cecil is kissing him. Carlos can only stand, no reciprocating or participating. Cecil pulls back again, and cups Carlos' head again, bringing it down. Surprisingly, Carlos finds his head moving down toward Cecil's mouth. Warmth spreads across his forehead, his hand grabbing Carlos' wrist while he kisses him. Carlos closes his eyes, relaxing against the kiss and pressure in his wrist.

And when he opens his eyes, Cecil is gone.

Carlos panics for a moment, covering his mouth again to hold in his voice in. A flash of purple catches his eye, and Carlos looks at the wrist Cecil had grabbed earlier. A lone purple eye rests on his wrist, identical to the eye on Cecil's forehead. It stares up at him, a gentle reminder of the lover he lost. Carlos rubs the marking, trying to get control of himself. His eyes eventually scan over the mess he had created earlier, glass shattered and papers scattered. He walks over slowly to the chaotic scene, picking up his notebook filled with observations. The scribbles and words, a weeks of hard research and careful observations. Carlos' mind races with thoughts, and he clutches it tight.

He makes a decision, and throws the notebook into the garbage, and begins tackling the equipment on the floor.

Carlos had one hell of a mess to clean up.

**Author's Note:**

> i have a headcannon that carlos would try and resurrect cecil if he ever died. also that carlos would hardly ever cry around anyone, and he'd be like a brick okay bye
> 
> also i finished it yes i feel accomplished holy shit


End file.
